May192011

ChromeVox Screen Reader for Chrome OS

“ChromeVox is built as a Chrome extension — this means that unlike most accessibility software, it’s built using only web technologies like HTML5, CSS and Javascript. As the built-in accessibility solution for Chrome OS, it can help users with special needs access modern web apps, including those that utilize W3C ARIA (Access to Rich Internet Applications) to provide a rich, desktop-like experience,” revealed Google.

“ChromeVox also comes with an interactive online tutorial that demonstrates how users of spoken feedback interact with webpages. Examples range from static content to interactive applications. You can test these same navigation techniques within your own apps to quickly verify users can reach all portions of your app using the keyboard and obtain meaningful feedback. You can then annotate your app with the necessary ARIA properties and other accessibility enhancements to ensure that blind and visually impaired users gain complete access to your app.”

“ChromeVox leverages two of Chrome’s experimental extension APIs, the experimental.tts API for cross-platform text-to-speech, and the experimental.accessibility API that lets an extension listen for accessibility events in Chrome’s menus and toolbars. In turn, ChromeVox exposes a simple screen reader API to web developers who wish to further customize the ChromeVox user experience,” Google said.

Deepak Gupta is a IT & Web Consultant. He is the founder and CEO of diTii.com & DIT Technologies, where he's engaged in providing Technology Consultancy, Design and Development of Desktop, Web and Mobile applications using various tools and softwares. Sign-up for the Email for daily updates. Google+ Profile.